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Eight-fold Path Program 2016-2017

IMCV will again be offering a 9-month Eightfold Path Program in 2016-2017. This program will be locally taught and facilitated by Lori Wong, Erin Cuarenta, Jeff Gianelli, Susan Taylor, and guest teachers from IMC.

This program is being offered in conjunction and collaboration with IMC (Insight Meditation Center) in Redwood City, CA.

The Buddha’s most explicit path of practice is the Eightfold Path. This is a set of eight practical approaches to bring Buddhist practice into the width and depth of our lives. The Eightfold Path Program is an introduction to each of the Eightfold factors so that participants can discover how to apply each set of practices in ways that are personally meaningful.

This program will meet for nine Saturdays (once a month) beginning in September and there will be an optional Saturday daylong in June in Redwood City to end the program.

The program has the following elements:

Weekly reflections and practices
This is the heart of the program. Each week, there are recommended practices and reflections for the path factor being studied that month. These are opportunities to engage with each path factor in a relevant and engaging manner.

Monthly group meetings

These include teachings, meditation, and small group discussions. They are a great opportunity to learn more and meet and practice with other members of the program.

A monthly 2 1/2 hour meeting is held on Saturdays from 10:00am to 12:30pm:
(Note: Each month’s materials will have a link once the meeting has been held, and any recordings and handouts from the meeting will be available through that link.)

(If you enroll) a reminder email will be sent a few days before each meeting. This email will also include a link to the essay and practices for the upcoming month.

Monthly readings

For each path factor there is an essay written by Gil Fronsdal and suggested additional readings. The handouts with the essays (and practices) for each factor are on the IMC AudioDharma website under “Eightfold Path”

As further support for the program, readings will also be selected from:

Bhikkhu Bodhi’s book: The Noble Eightfold Path: The Way to the End of Suffering. This is freely available at AccessToInsight.org.

Monthly audio recordings on each of the path factors
You will also be encouraged to listen to recordings of Gil Fronsdal’s talks for each of the path factors.

For those who formally enroll in the program and wish to have a mentor, there are the following additional program elements:

A monthly one-hour meeting with an Eightfold Path mentor

These meetings are to discuss the weekly practices and reflections for that month’s path factor and to answer any questions you may have about the Eightfold Path. The mentor can support you as you explore each of the path factors and its role in your life. Typically, the sessions will begin and end with a very brief meditation session.

These will be privately scheduled between the mentor and mentee and may be done by video call or in person, depending on availability.

A one-day retreat at the Insight Meditation Center on Saturday, June 17, 2017
Everyone who is enrolled in this program is encouraged to attend this daylong event at IMC on June 17, 2017. More details will be available as the date approaches.

Each month there will be a link and a page provided for the materials for that month. Please note that the weeks listed in the handout materials will not match (IMC’s schedule is not identical to our Modesto group) – just adjust it accordingly.

Pre-requisite: completion of IMCV’s (or IMC’s) 5-week Introduction to Meditation course or the equivalent. If you are attending the Introduction to Mindfulness course in Modesto starting on Sept. 11th, this will satisfy the pre-requisite.

Application:Apply here through IMC’s form – please be sure to check the box for Modesto if you plan to attend the Modesto meetings and want a mentor in the Modesto area. Application is required by Sept. 15, 2016.